Fungus Among Us: Mushroom Foraging Lessons with Jared Urchek

By the end of the full series, participants will:

→ Understand how to read and use a variety of guidebooks among other ID tools

→ Identify trees and common places to find wild edible mushrooms seasonally

→ Feel confident in your ability to follow foraging safety precautions

→ Be able to cook and tincture edible mushrooms

March 1st: Introduction to Fungi (ID Tools & Safety)

Foraging for wild food is a great way to experience the natural world, but it is essential to learn how to do so safely. In this class, you’ll receive an overview of our top five seasonal wild edibles as a segway into learning the anatomy of mushrooms and foraging safety. You’ll also receive hands-on experience navigating a guidebook to identify mushrooms & learn how to properly conduct research for positive identification.

April 5th: Look-A-Likes & Mushroom Toxicity
The ability to identify wild edibles is fun, but the knowledge of what toxic species exist in the area is essential. In this class, we’ll cover ID features of some of the deadliest mushrooms in our area and look-a-likes that can easily be misidentified with an untrained eye. We’ll also cover what to do if you accidentally consume a toxic mushroom and what precautions you can take to avoid fatal injury.

May 3rd: Cooking Wild Edibles

Learn to cook gourmet mushrooms! This course will explore cooking “crab” cakes from lions mane mushrooms with a side of lemon and herb pasta using oyster mushrooms.

September 6th: Tree ID for Mushroom Hunters

If there’s one skill that can improve your foraging yield, it’s tree ID. In this class, we’ll take a field trip to the Frederick Municipal Forest to identify common trees that every mushroom hunter should learn. We’ll also talk about decomposing matter and how that presents an opportunity for mushrooms to flourish.

October 4th: Growing Mushrooms

You too can grow mushrooms at home. It’s easier than you think! We walk you through the process of growing mushrooms step-by-step. Plus, you’ll receive spawn to start growing your own mushrooms at home.

November 1st: Making Mushroom Tinctures

One of the biggest advantages of mushroom tinctures is that they have a longer shelf-life than storing fresh mushrooms. In this class, you’ll learn the process of double extraction and try your hand at making your very own mushroom tincture to take home.

Bonus!

+All participants who sign up for this series will receive a free virtual class: Ethics of Foraging led by Lacey Walker & Taylor Roman on Fox Haven. We highly recommend you watch this before the first Fungus Among Us class to learn important safety tools and the importance of reciprocity from a forager’s perspective.

Email [email protected] to discuss a payment plan!

Meet your teacher, Jared Urchek!

Jared is an acupuncturist, mycologist, and naturalist, has been studying various healing arts for over 15 years. His undergraduate degree in Psychology, Environmental Studies, and Traditional Eastern Arts led him to a Masters in Acupuncture program from the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture. The Five-Element Acupuncture system of medicine that Jared practices allows for healing on all levels – body, mind, and spirit – and allows for a greater understanding of how we can stay balanced in Nature and through the seasons.

Host or Publisher Fox Haven Farm & Retreat Center